What's in the lunchbox? Dietary behaviour of learners from disadvantaged schools in the Western Cape, South Africa

Abrahams, Zulfa; Villiers, Anniza de; Steyn, Nelia P.; Fourie, Jean; Dalais, Lucinda; Hill, Jillian; Draper, Catherine E.; Lambert, Estelle V.

doi:10.1017/s1368980011001108

Cited by 33 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…The number of children carrying a lunch box was low and, similar to the results of a previous localised study (24) , the contents consisted mostly of bread. Previous studies have shown that learners who attended schools of high socio-economic status were twice as likely to bring food to school (13) and that learners from rural and disadvantaged settings were less likely to bring a lunch box to school because of a lack of food available at home (24) .…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

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Is the school food environment conducive to healthy eating in poorly resourced South African schools?

Faber

Laurie

Maduna³

et al. 2013

Public Health Nutr.

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Objective: To assess the school food environment in terms of breakfast consumption, school meals, learners' lunch box, school vending and classroom activities related to nutrition. Design: Cross-sectional survey. Setting: Ninety purposively selected poorly resourced schools in South Africa. Subjects: Questionnaires were completed by school principals (n 85), school feeding coordinators (n 77), food handlers (n 84), educators (n 687), randomly selected grade 5 to 7 learners (n 2547) and a convenience sample of parents (n 731). The school menu (n 75), meal served on the survey day, and foods at tuck shops and food vendors (n 74) were recorded. Results: Twenty-two per cent of learners had not eaten breakfast; 24 % brought a lunch box, mostly with bread. Vegetables (61 %) were more often on the school menu than fruit (28 %) and were served in 41 % of schools on the survey day compared with 4 % serving fruit. Fifty-seven per cent of learners brought money to school. Parents advised learners to buy fruit (37 %) and healthy foods (23 %). Tuck shops and vendors sold mostly unhealthy foods. Lack of money/poverty (74 %) and high food prices (68 %) were major challenges for healthy eating. Most (83 %) educators showed interest in nutrition, but only 15 % had received training in nutrition. Eighty-one per cent of educators taught nutrition as part of school subjects. Conclusions: The school food environment has large scope for improvement towards promoting healthy eating. This includes increasing access to vegetables and fruit, encouraging learners to carry a healthy lunch box, and regulating foods sold through tuck shops and food vendors. Keywords School food vendorsSchool tuck shop Lunch box School feeding South AfricaSouth Africa experiences the double burden of undernutrition and overweight. A national survey showed that 20?7 % of 1-to 9-year-old children were stunted, 8?1 % were underweight, 5?8 % were wasted, and 14?0 % were either overweight or obese (1) . Overweight/obesity increases progressively as children become older (2) , and the second national youth risk behaviour survey showed that 20 % of secondary-school learners were overweight and 5 % were obese (3) . Overweight/obesity is even more prevalent during adulthood and, in 2003, 54?9 % of adult women and 29?8 % of adult men were either overweight or obese (4) .

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

“…Previous studies have shown that learners who attended schools of high socio-economic status were twice as likely to bring food to school (13) and that learners from rural and disadvantaged settings were less likely to bring a lunch box to school because of a lack of food available at home (24) .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is the school food environment conducive to healthy eating in poorly resourced South African schools?

Faber

Laurie

Maduna³

et al. 2013

Public Health Nutr.

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“…Since the pilot took place in the HK study schools the year before the implementation commenced, the pilot sample did not include any children from the final HK sample. As described in an earlier publication, 27 a multiple correspondence analysis was carried out on all questions contributing to the nutritional knowledge and nutritional self-efficacy constructs during the analysis of this pilot data. The Burt matrix approach 28 was applied and the percentage of variability in the first two dimensions of each score was assessed.…”

Section: Knowledge Self-efficacy and Behavior Questionnairementioning

confidence: 99%

Primary School Children’s Nutrition Knowledge, Self-Efficacy, and Behavior, after a Three-Year Healthy Lifestyle Intervention (HealthKick)

et al. 2016

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Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of HealthKick(HK), a healthy lifestyle intervention, on nutrition knowledge, behavior, and dietary selfefficacy of school children in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. Design:A three-year cluster randomized control trial at primary schools in low socioeconomic settings with a baseline study in 2009 and follow-up in 2010 and 2011.Participants: Participants were Grade four children (n=500) at eight schools in the intervention group and at eight schools in the control group (n=498).Methods: An action planning process was followed with educators whereby they identified their own school health priorities and ways to address them. Schools were provided with nutrition resources, including curriculum guidelines and the South African food-based dietary guidelines. Children completed a questionnaire comprising nutrition knowledge, self-efficacy and behavioral items. Results:The intervention significantly improved the knowledge of the intervention group at the first (mean difference =1.88, 95%CI: .32 to 3.43, P=.021) and second follow-up (mean difference=1.92, 95%CI: .24 to 3.60, P=.031) compared with the control group. The intervention effect for self-efficacy was not significant at the first follow-up (mean difference=.32, 95%CI: -.029 to .94, P=.281) whereas a significant effect was observed at the second followup (mean difference=.71, 95%CI: .04 to 1.38, P=.039). There were no significant differences between the intervention and control groups for nutritional behavior scores at any of the follow-up time points. Conclusion:The HK intervention improved nutrition knowledge and self-efficacy significantly in primary schoolchildren; however, it did not improve their eating behavior.

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“…Other smaller regional studies in younger age groups support this observation to varying degrees. 43,44,46 Many children were now receiving fruit and vegetables through the National Schools Nutrition Program (NSNP). 42 This was made possible by an increase in the average meal cost allowance per student per day since the last report card and the addition of a guideline to allow for fresh vegetables or fruit to be served daily.…”

Section: Nutritional Indicatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Results from South Africa’s 2014 Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth

Draper

Basset²,

Villiers³

et al. 2014

Journal of Physical Activity and Health

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, and the HAKSA Writing GroupBackground: There is current concern for the health and well-being of children and youth in South Africa, including habits of physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior. The 2014 Healthy Active Kids South Africa Report Card evaluates the current activity status of children and youth. Methods: The Research Working Group was comprised of 23 experts in physical education, nutrition, sport science, public health and journalism. The search was based on a systematic review of peer-reviewed literature (previous 5 years), dissertations, and nonpeer-reviewed reports ('gray' literature) dealing with the PA and nutritional status of South African children and youth 6-18 years of age. Key indicators were identified and data extracted. Grades for each indicator were discussed and assigned. Results: Overall PA levels received a D grade, as roughly 50% or more of children and youth were not meeting recommended levels. Organized sports participation fared better with a C, and government policies were promising, receiving a B. Screen time and sedentary behavior were a major concern and received a grade of F. Under-and over-weight were highlighted, but overweight is on the rise and this indicator was assigned a D grade. Most of the other indicators in South Africa remained the same or became worse so that grades declined from C-to D. In particular, sedentary behavior, soft-drink and fast food consumption, and an ineffectual regulatory environment to control advertising to children were a concern. There is need to engage parents and communities for advocacy and social mobilization.

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What's in the lunchbox? Dietary behaviour of learners from disadvantaged schools in the Western Cape, South Africa

Cited by 33 publications

References 18 publications

Is the school food environment conducive to healthy eating in poorly resourced South African schools?

Is the school food environment conducive to healthy eating in poorly resourced South African schools?

Primary School Children’s Nutrition Knowledge, Self-Efficacy, and Behavior, after a Three-Year Healthy Lifestyle Intervention (HealthKick)

Results from South Africa’s 2014 Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth

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